Where’s the good news? Right here

Had enough of the grim headline of abuse cases, of diocesan bankruptcies, of legal battles, of angry Catholics, of beaten-down priests and bishops? Yep, us, too.

Chant it loudly with us now: "We want good news, we want good news."

You want good news? We’ve got good news.

"The good news is that God still loves the world through each one of us. You are God’s good news; you are God’s love in action. Through you, God is still loving the world. Each time people come into contact with us, they must become different and better people because of having met us. We must radiate God’s love. By our living and working together as God’s family, we proclaim that unity in the church, as well as by working with all people, serving all people, of any religion, color, caste or race."

That’s the take on the good news from Mother Teresa. Need some more?

"What is the good news? Paul said it all: ‘I have preached to you the death and the resurrection of Jesus.’ Jesus is the son of God. Jesus was raised from the dead, and he lives now in our midst. Death is conquered. We don’t have to be afraid of death. ... Yes, this is good news. This is the good news we are supposed to be spreading. There is more, of course, to the good news. It is also God’s love — unending, limitless, unconditional love. Jesus loved those who were torturing him and putting him to death. He loved his enemies.

"It is the power of love — the kind of unconditional love that reaches out even to those who hurt us and who are our enemies — that can change the world. If we experience that love ourselves, we will be able to spread this message. It can truly transform the world" (retired Detroit Auxiliary Bishop Thomas J. Gumbleton).

Nearly two decades ago, Christian singer Amy Grant recorded a song that seems prophetic for many of us who are struggling with the day-to-day human failings around us: "Got a ticket coming home/Wish the officer had known what a day today has been./Then I stumbled through the door, dropping junk mail on the floor — when will this day end?/Then your letter caught my eye, brought the hope in me alive, because you know me very well, and, I’ll be, you wrote me just to tell me/In a little while we’ll be with the Father, can’t you see him smile?/In a little while we’ll be home forever, in a while./Boy, that letter hit the spot/Made me think of all I’ve got/And all that waits for me./Guess I’ve known it all day long;/Wonder where my thoughts went wrong/When will my heart believe?/Days like these are just a test of our will — will we walk or will we fall?/Well, I can almost see the top of the hill, and I believe it’s worth it all."

It’s not easy to remind ourselves on a regular basis that the only good news we really need to hear is the same message that has been repeated to humanity for nearly 2,000 years: God sent his son, Jesus Christ, to redeem us. We need to look at that fact and ask what meaning it has for each of us.